Meet Karen Cage

You may have seen her face in Realtor ads or at one of the many fundraising events around town but not had the opportunity to get acquainted with this perky, bright-eyed go-getter.

As a Realtor for Fuller Sotheby's in Evergreen, she's accrued some notable distinctions which put her in a small group of high achievers. As an Accredited Buyer's Representative, she's 1 of 4% of Realtors nationswide. As a Certified Negotiations Expert, she helps comprise the 1% of all Realtors who have that designation. Locally she's been recognized several times over the years that indicate she's a top-producing broker who can close a deal consistently.

While her children were attending Evergreen High School, she was very much a part of school activities, most notably as founder of Cougar Pride, an asset initiative designed to get teens involved in the community while building character values. She was instrumental in making community service a fun activity for high school students. From cutting wood and painting for the Seniors' Resource Center to cleaning up downtown Evergreen to conducting a food drive and stocking the shelves for Evergreen Christian Outreach, Karen was a real goal-setter for young people. Karen worked with Cougar Pride for 5 years and served as its president for 3.

"If you give back to someone less fortunate, you feel better about yourself," is the philosophy she tried to convey through the organization. She was also instrumental in designing the Wall of Fame at the High School.

As a member of the Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce, Karen was heavily involved for the better part of a decade, serving on the board, holding officer positions, and serving as president in 2008. One of the areas where she made quite an impact was rewriting the Ambassador Program, which pairs up an existing member of the Chamber with one or more new members to make them feel comfortable.

As a member of the Rotary Club of Evergreen, she focused on making the Red Badge orientation program for Rotary so good locally that it's been adopted at the district level. She served on the Board of Directors for four years, chaired or co-chaired the annual fundraiser twice, and received awards that recognized her distinguished service in a variety of ways. She received the "Paul Harris Fellow" award from Rotary International and the designation as "Foundation Fellow" from the Rotary Club of Evergreen.

She is a graduate of Leadership Evergreen and serves on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Horse Food Bank.

Horseback riding and supporting the arts are two of her passions. She and her husband live on a ranch originally homesteaded in 1861 and known for the elk-calving each spring. She is currently president of the Board for the Center for the Arts Evergreen, which builds partnerships with both the visual and performing arts producing arts shows and festivals, art classes, grants for art in the schools, art camps for children, and concerts.

She's not the kind to simply become a member when she joins an organization. She's a self-starter who sets goals and achieves them to make an organization considerably better. It's all about substance, values, and character – whatever will make the organization a better group, and its participants better people. She consistently raises the bar for those who follow.